Fire erupts in Sharjah building, blaze put out in 75 minutes

Residents evacuate as flames seen engulfing the upper floors of residential building 

 

Dubai: A fire has erupted in a residential building on Al Ittihad Road in Sharjah on Thursday. 

The fire started round 12.15pm inside an apartment on the 13th floor before it spread to upper floors, according to Sharjah Civil Defence officials. About 75 minutes later, firerfighters armed with boom cranes managed to put out the blaze.

Flames were first seen moving to the upper floors of building B of Al Bandary Twin Towers. The Dubai-bound section of Ittihad Road was closed for motorists' safety as flaming debris were seen falling from the building.

As cooling down operations continued, the Dubai-bound lane was partially opened.

At least four cars parked outside the building have been towed due to fire damage.

Residents of the Al Bandry Tower B where the fire erupted had been evacuated to safety.

The water hoses on tower cranes immensely helped battle the blaze and, by about 1.30pm, the flames had been put out, though cooling operations went on.

The blaze went up the cladding, or building skin, outside the tower and found its way to the topmost floor. Dozens of families were evacuated from the building that caught fire, said authorities.

Mrs Amal, from Libya, said she thought it was a false alarm.

"The fire alarm would always go off so we didn't take it seriously. But then when I opened the door, I saw smoke," the mother of three told Gulf News.

"I immediately grabbed my kids and we evacuated the building. Good thing I always have an emergency bag where all our important documents are."

Mariam, 13, said all seven members of her family were home when the fire struck.

"We heard knocking on our doors. When we opened it, we saw the smoke. We left the buiding immediately."

Eilaf Al Binjawy said they heard something falling on their balcony and checked what it was.

"We went to our balcony and saw people on the street looking up at us. We looked up and saw the floors above us on fire," Eilaf said.

"Everyone was clueless until we saw the smoke. So far we can just hope that our flat is okay. We're just praying here," the Sudanese said.

Sharjah Civil defence official told Gulf News the fire broke out around 12.15pm pm in the residential tower.

The fire was brought under control a round 1.30pm and the cooling down operation is under way.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

Small chunks of burning debris could be seen falling from the burning exterior shell of the building and drifting to the ground.

The Civil Defence cut the power supply to the building. <>Residents were called to move away their vehicles parked under the burning building.

Sharjah Police closed the road leading to the building on fire and diverted traffic to ease the work of firefighters.